Judge who called two murder victims...

JUDGE CLEARED. A

November 2, 1989

- DALLAS — JUDGE CLEARED. A judge who called two murder victims ''queers'' and said he considered their homosexuality a mitigating factor in sentencing their killer has been cleared of bias charges by a special master. Special Master Robert R. Murray ruled on Tuesday that State District Judge Jack Hampton violated Texas' judicial code by commenting on a pending case but rejected allegations of bias and discrediting the judiciary. Murray ruled that Hampton would be impartial in any case that came before him, including those involving homosexuals. The ruling drew an angry reaction from the Dallas Gay Alliance, which has urged Hampton's removal from the bench since his remarks. In an interview last December, Hampton, discussing the double murder trial of Richard Lee Bednarski, said he considered the victims' homosexuality a mitigating factor when he sentenced him. Bednarski, 18, could have been sentenced to life in prison but got 30 years for shooting two men to death in a park.